1. Field of Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to systems and methods of treating hydrocephalus or the like, and more particularly, to ventricular or lumbar cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) shunt systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
A common contemporary treatment of hydrocephalus is to divert the flow of CSF. One strategy in obstructive hydrocephalus is to surgically pierce a hole in the bottom of the third ventricle, bypassing the obstruction. However, most commonly, CSF is diverted to a space in the body that has a large capacity to absorb it such as the peritoneum, pleura, or bloodstream. This strategy can be used with obstructive or communicating hydrocephalus and is accomplished by a device known as a shunt.
A shunt for CSF diversion typically consists of a synthetic tube placed through a hole drilled in the skull and passed through the brain into the ventricle. This is connected to a tube passed under the skin that terminates in the desired location. The shunt may be fitted with a valve designed to control pressure and flow as well as a device designed to mitigate over-drainage due to siphoning with upright posture.
Presently, in the case of hydrocephalus or other intracranial hypertension disorders, treatment utilizing a shunt for draining excess CSF between the patient's ventricles and the peritoneal cavity, or lumbar to peritoneal cavity, or ventricles to aorta artery, a drainage lumen is routed from the CSF source to a reabsorption site where a distal catheter discharges the fluid. Movement generated by the patient, or by other biological functions, can cause undesirable internal migration of the drainage system which can result in a disruption of either the collection or discharge of CSF and thereby a non-optimal reabsorption of CSF by the shunt system. Furthermore, migration of the shunt's drainage lumen(s) may interfere with other bodily functions for example in the case where drainage tubing may wrap around internal organs such as the intestines. Therefore, it is altogether desirable to affix such internal shunt components, such as drainage lumens or other shunt components, to internal organs or other areas in order to prevent undesirable migration. Such affixation may also be necessary for the securing and alignment of shunt components, such as valves, which are desired to be aligned or oriented to a gravitational field, or otherwise, with respect to patient position, so as to allow such component(s) to predictably vary its function over various patient positions while affixed. In this way, utilizing such affixation could facilitate a gravitational valve to fully compensate for CSF siphoning in the patient's standing position, for instance, while not compensating for a siphoning effect in the patient's supine position, where siphoning is of less influence to a shunt. Furthermore, such affixation may be desirable for shunt components in which ex-vivo intervention or interrogation in a particular orientation is desirable based upon an a priori knowledge of the shunt component(s) position. Such would be the case for non-invasive percutaneous programming by way of magnetic or electromagnetic means, for example, or for the case where manual manipulation by palpations is desirable.